New Music | Paul Beaubrun

We are excited to announce the release of Paul Beaubrun’s fourth solo album, Limyè A La, the culmination of three years of direct collaboration with Paul’s long time friend Michael Brun, and the evolution of his musical style and world view after years of touring in the US, most recently with Arcade Fire.

Limyè A La translates to ‘The Light Within’, an apt title for Paul’s continued gifts to the world. His history is filled with challenges, first as a family member of Boukman Eksperyans, the Haitian band whose name references Dutty Boukman (whose religious ceremony started the Haitian revolution in 1791), and subsequently the ongoing situation in Haiti. Paul continues to educate the world about Haiti, and to bring positive energy through music for all to heal and move forward.

Limyè A La features a powerful cast including Michael Brun, Naika, Shirazee, KOLO, Kabysh, Badio, Keila Casasola Beaubrun, CIMAFUNK, and Keyon Harrold. Beaubrun keeps a balance of American roots and pop, with a strong Haitian rhythmic and cultural style. 

The seond single, Find My Woman - is out today!

Bright Dog Red

The cats that are Bright Dog Red are back; this time with two new albums that bring the Yin and Yang back into balance and flow. If you’re new to their vibe it goes like this - gather with your talented friends and pour your spirit into a fully improvised session with nothing but your intent as a guide. Bad Magic and Hegemonetized are the sixth and seventh Bright Dog Red albums released here at ropeadope, and for an ensemble that creates on the spot there is a solid throughline to their art. Each album seems to build upon and outsmart the last. Here are some words from bandleader Joe Pignato on the purpose and reasons:

Bad Magic began with a set of themes to inspire the individual contributors, the prevalence of misinformation, antiscientific thinking, and other forms of deception subverting online platforms and cultural and political discourses.

As we started making Bad Magic, the sessions took on two palpably distinct characters. Some improvisations had a contemplative or atmospheric air, but others were more aggressive, reflecting a kind of urgency. It became clear that we were developing two discrete yet related concepts simultaneously. Those more forceful tracks became Hegemonitized.

The fact this this feels like the musical equivalent of a classic novel is to be savored. Make some time, dust it off, get on that bus, and let it all begin.

New Music | Nation Beat

Funk. Bop. Forró. Brass.
Pounded by calloused hands, blasted from tightened lips,
It calls across time and continents, uplifting hearts and moving hips and feet.
It’s the force that blew through Louis Armstrong in the twenties.
It’s the power that gets Brazilians dancing in the streets for Carnival.
It’s the freedom that sets the music on fire.
It’s Nation Beat.

Everybody get up! The new Nation Beat is on the way and it’s time to shake off whatever is on our minds and have some fun. The full album - Archaic Humans - is due on May 31, but today we jump right in and Give A Little with special guest Christylez Bacon. Come on, come on…

New Music | Erini

Join us on a trip across the ocean and back in time as we welcome Erini to the Ropeadope family. Erini is a vocalist of jazz and Greek traditional music who blurs the lines between genres and explores intercultural dialogue. Her debut album is titled Fos, which translates to light in English, and is a collection of 13 Greek traditional songs from Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). Erini’s intent is to shed light on the rich musical heritage of Greek refugees from Asia Minor. After the Greco-Turkish war (1919-1922), over 1.5 million Greeks were forcefully displaced from Asia Minor. Greatly moved by the story of her great-grandparents, who were among those refugees forced to abandon their homes in 1923, Erini has created Fos in their honor. Erini’s unique musical versatility, cultivated by her Cirque Du Soleil tours and her Berklee education, has birthed a modern revisitation and cross-genre orchestration of the Asia Minor-Greek standards. Co-produced by Grammy-nominated arranger Gonzalo Grau, the album introduces a range of themes including love, sorrow and alienation.

This is compelling music with deep roots, brought to us by a masterful vocalist with powerful feeling. Not only does it carry us away, but also informs and inspires us to learn and embrace her culture.

Fos will be unveiled on June 7th, with the first single - Menexedes Kai Zoumpoulia - available today.